MMORPG: The Elementalist

Compared to the previous pricing of 13,000 gold coins, which the Bowmaster quoted, a final price of 7,000 gold coins was much cheaper than before. Additionally, the Archer also provided Qin Ruo with some useful information. Having the Frostburst Staff sold at half its original price, the deal was not a lost cause after all.

After he delightedly completed the transaction for the deal, Qin Ruo did not immediately switch the Frost Soul he had been holding on to.

Other players would have failed to refrain themselves from switching to the Gold Frostburst Staff immediately after obtaining it. Perhaps others could afford to do that, but not Qin Ruo… Not only was he merely a Tier 3 Aquamancer… he did not possess the capability to protect the Frostburst Staff from the greedy eyes of other players. Not to mention, the several new enemies Qin Ruo made recently had quite the background. Qin Ruo had to keep his clear mind as he needed to stay vigilant at all times. After he had completed the deal, he did not even dare take it out despite standing in the safe zone. He bid farewell to Elf Prince as he went over to the entrance of the small town to meet up with Slayer’s Heart and the others.

Qin Ruo could count on Slayer’s Heart and the others without a doubt. He quickly switched the few pieces of Level 39 Violet Equipment that he found from the market and shared the information about the Frostburst Staff in their Party Channel…

“The attributes aren’t bad at all. This staff will help you in a great many ways. How much did you get it for?”

Slayer’s Heart and the others seemed to be very satisfied with the attribute of the Frostburst Staff. After they found out about the price of the staff, they were very impressed by Qin Ruo’s ability to bargain—slashing the price from 13,000 gold coins down to merely 7,000 gold coins was indeed not something that any ordinary player could pull off.

“Oh, right, the information regarding the several equipment that you wanted has come in.”

“Really?”

Upon hearing the news, Qin Ruo revealed a joyful smile on his face as he instantly felt excited. He never expected to receive any information about the equipment he was searching for the moment he was ready to progress into a new Tier. While he was overjoyed by the news, Qin Ruo quickly asked, “Which equipment can I trade?”

“The Galewind Wolf King Boots. Someone’s willing to trade two pieces of Tier 4 Violet Equipment for it, and add 10,000 gold coins.”

“Violet Equipment?”

Qin Ruo was slightly stunned after he heard that. He was no longer the rookie he once was a few days back. He knew those boots were, in fact, one of the best quality boots there were in the game. They could increase Affinity by 5 %. Not to mention, they also carried the additional skill of increasing speed. They were the best among the best. If the attributes of the two Violet Equipment offered were not among the best, the deal would definitely not work.

Slayer’s Heart smiled. “Let me show you the attributes of the two Violet Equipment then.” As spoke to Qin Ruo, he sent Qin Ruo a Trade Request. Qin Ruo was shocked for a moment. After accepting the request, Qin Ruo was surprised to find that the interested party had actually given the two pieces of Violet Equipment to Slayer’s Heart. That player seemed to trust Slayer’s Heart a lot.

Right in the window of the trade column lay a snowy-white, wild Elemental Robe and a Necklace. With a quick glance, Qin Ruo’s heart immediately started to race…

These were good stuff!

Wintry Ice Demon’s Elemental Robe 

Violet Tier 

21 Defense 

10 Magic Defense 

Effects: Water Elemental Damage increases by 5%! Casting speed improved by 5%! 

Requires 27 Strength

Requires 26 Agility

Requires 70 Intelligence  

Level Requirement: 40 

Limited to Aquamancers

***

Frostsoul Necklace 

Violet Tier 

Effects: Increase Maximum HP by 100 Points. Improves the speed of casting Water Elementalism by 6%.  

Requires 58 Intelligence 

Level Requirement: 40 

Limited to Aquamancers

Slayer’s Heart sincerely told him that it was indeed true these two pieces of equipment were far from being as good as the Galewind Wolf King Boots. That fact did not change even when the attributes of both pieces of equipment were combined together. But the two pieces of equipment would definitely cost more than 15,000 gold coins on the market.

The rarest and most commendable thing was the Frost Necklace. It was actually a Tier 4 Violet Accessory that carried two additional Attributes, which could really support Qin Ruo in his future endeavors. Furthermore, it was also rare for one to be able to come across a piece of Violet Accessory on the market. Even if someone was willing to pay a large sum of money, there might not be anyone selling it.

Two pieces of equipment and an additional 10,000 gold coins. Qin Ruo pondered over and over again. Finally, he nodded and agreed to make the trade.

After completing the tier progression quest and having all three pieces of equipment on him, Qin Ruo would be able to improve his casting speed of his Water Elementalism by 21 %. He would become even more agile and fit to cast Tier 1 Elementalism. He would not get the short end of the stick in any way.

After he passed the Galewind Wolf King Boots to Slayer’s Heart, Qin Ruo also took out the few Gold-tier Bandit Equipment with decent Attributes. Those pieces of equipment were the equipment he obtained before dawn. He took them out to ask Slayer’s Heart for a favor, to put them on the Bauhinia League’s rack in hopes of trading them for Tier 4 Elementalist Equipment. He was hoping for the best, which was to get some equipment that could improve his speed of casting his magic and Magic Effects.

“To pick this path… Hmm, not bad! You’ll do great!” Slayer’s Heart nodded. He was able to see the direction Qin Ruo was going in. After he memorized the information of the two pieces of Gold Bandit Equipment, Slayer’s Heart put a note on the announcement board of the League.

***

Walking out from Savis Town, the six of them had once again entered Aricus Underground Ruins.

According to Slayer’s Heart, ever since Crackpot was defeated in that place, he had never shown his face there. After his defeat in the Snow Domain, he had even vanished from Savis Town. According to rumors, he had gone to the Mythical Battlefield. Perhaps, he was just too ashamed to stay around, or he really had something important to attend to on the Mythical Battlefield.

That being said, before Qin Ruo could attain Tier 4, he would not need to worry about being haunted by Crackpots’s appearance.

It should have been good news for Qin Ruo, but he felt a little regretful for no reason. He originally wanted to experience the passion of PvP matches between players during this time. But who would have thought that Crackpot would leave without leaving any note behind?

That was truly unfortunate!

“So what kind of a place is the Mythical Battlefield? Have you guys been there before?” Qin Ruo picked a time when everyone was free. He then turned to Sister Violet who was in the middle. He had never been to the Mythical Battlefield. His understanding towards that place was limited as he was only able to learn anything about it from the battles between players of the Angel Faction and Demon Faction.

“The Mythical Battlefield… How do we describe it… Hmmm…”

Sister Violet muttered to herself for a moment before she said, “We’ve been there. Hmm… Let’s describe it like this: For normal Tier 4 players, the Mythical Battlefield is like a place filled with danger and challenges that never end. In that place, you’ll never find players who are much weaker than you. On the contrary, many players can easily kill you and snatch away your equipment. But for professional Tier 4 players… the challenges and opportunities presented in the Mythical Battlefield are equal. It all depends on your means and luck to get something you need from the Mythical Battlefield!”

Qin Ruo dropped his jaw in astonishment. That was weird. It felt Violet Orchid did not explain and describe the environment of the Mythical Battlefield to Qin Ruo. Instead, it sounded like she had told him the philosophies regarding the battlefield… It seemed a little deep. But fortunately, Sister Violet still managed to tell Qin Ruo one message from of her “preaching”—the Mythical Battlefield was extremely perilous! As for how perilous the Mythical Battlefield was exactly, it appeared that Qin Ruo would need to wait until he could progress into Tier 4 before he could experience everything for himself.

However, one of the things that Sister Violet mentioned, “many players can easily kill you and snatch away your equipment” was etched deeply in Qin Ruo’s mind as he carefully remembered it. He had to at least wait until he no longer had anything to worry about before he could set foot in that place.

“Oh yeah, Captain! There’s something I want to ask you.”

Slayer’s Heart, who was leading the party and cleaning up the monsters before them, blew a Gorefiend Spider away with a powerful swing of his hammer. He did not even turn his head around as he said, “Just ask. What’s up?”

“Captain, who’s stronger? You, or… Dark Annihilator from the Carefree Clan?”

“Dark Annihilator!”

Around Qin Ruo, the expression on the ladies’ faces instantly turned strange. They had obviously heard that name before. They looked at Qin Ruo curiously. “How did you come across him?”

When Slayer’s Heart heard that name, his body trembled as he suddenly struck out a series of combo attacks at lightning speed. Along with that combo, he swiftly smashed the Gorefiend Spider, which he encountered head-on into a bloody pile of mud. He then turned around and gave Qin Ruo a glance.

“I’m definitely not on the same level as he is.”

Qin Ruo told himself, ‘ As expected… ‘

After Slayer’s Heart no longer served as Bauhinia’s Field Commander, his overall strength could not hold up to the strength of a Field Commander from a true League.

Slayer’s Heart explained that he was no longer the same as he was back in the beginning when he started the game. Now he could not find the passion he once had. He could no longer find any goal that got his blood boiling. He could no longer determine the reason why he wanted to continue being the strongest in the game.

From that moment on, his ability had stopped improving! In the meantime, the other players remained fired up as they continued to put effort into improving themselves to break through their older selves. Whether it was equipment, experiences, or skills, the other players had already surpassed the “forerunner”, Slayer’s Heart. The moment Slayer’s Heart said what he wanted to say, Qin Ruo felt as though he had caught a glimpse of a deadly grievance from a fallen hero right before his eyes…

Burning Rose, Violet Orchid and the other ladies looked each other in the eye. They seemed worried by the looks in their eyes as they fixed their gazes on Slayer’s Heart who maintained a smile on his face as if nothing had happened. Qin Ruo frowned when he saw that. He felt like he had asked something that he should not have asked. Violet Orchid and the other ladies seemed to know something that he did not. Perhaps… the reason Slayer’s Heart retired from the position as Field Commander lay there somewhere.

“Little Qin, why did you suddenly bring up Dark Annihilator?” After the Party arrived at their grinding spot and stopped there, Slayer’s Heart could not help but ask Qin Ruo out of curiosity. Qin Ruo only responded with an “Oh”. He then told everyone about what happened to him back at the Devil’s Swamp. Qin Ruo also noticed that the ladies appeared to be showing signs of relief when he told them about the incident.

Shortly after, he heard Burning Rose asking him hastily, “What do you think about Dark Annihilator’s strength?”

“Powerful… Powerful to the point that it’s outrageous!”

Qin Ruo murmured to himself as he made his judgment. He felt that the evaluation he gave was relatively applicable. Then, he switched his Frost Soul to the golden Frostburst Staff right after he spoke. He clenched his fists firmly as he said something else to himself.

“Perhaps one day… I’ll also become as strong as him!”